Catch 23 nabs pic rights to novel ‘Heartbreaker’

Barber, Tang to o'see project's development

Catch 23 Entertainment has acquired feature rights to Robert Ferrigno’s 1999 noir thriller “Heartbreaker.” Adapting the novel is Scott Silver, who currently is penning an Eminem feature for Universal and Imagine Entertainment.

“Heartbreaker” is the story of Val Duran, a one-time undercover narc seeking revenge against the South Florida drug kingpin who murdered his partner. Hiding from his nemesis in Hollywood, Duran discovers Los Angeles is as troubling as Miami: Just as the drug lord comes to town, Duran’s attraction to a feisty marine biologist lands him in the middle of a California playboy’s murder plot.

The property was identified and acquired by Catch 23 principal Robert Sturm. Catch 23 prexy Jeremy Barber and Cindy Tang, coordinator of production and acquisitions, will oversee development of “Heartbreaker.”

A 1993 graduate of the American Film Institute, Silver previously wrote and directed “johns” starring Lukas Haas and David Arquette, and “The Mod Squad” starring Claire Danes, Giovanni Ribisi and Omar Epps.